A question that comes-up quite often is: “How long would I have to wait to by a new home after a foreclosure?”

The answer to that just got better.

Fannie Mae announced last week that they are modifying the waiting period requirements for purchasing a new home after a pre-foreclosure event on a previous home.

Previously a borrower had to wait four (4) years after a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or a pre-foreclosure sale before they could qualify for a new Fannie Mae conventional loan. Now, after two (2) years a borrower will qualify for a loan of 80% LTV (loan-to-value) and after four (4) years they will qualify for a loan of 90% LTV and after seven (7) years they’ll be eligible for maximum LTV offered by Fannie Mae at that time.

Current waiting period requirements after foreclosure are unchanged from five (5) years.

A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is differs from a foreclosure. With a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure the borrower conveys all interest in the property over to the lender to avoid foreclosure proceedings.